Gholām-Hossein Sā'edi MD ( fa, غلامحسین ساعدی, also transliterated as Gholamhoseyn Sa'edi and Ghulamhusayn Sa'idi; January 15, 1936 in Tabriz – November 23, 1985 in Paris) was a prolific Iranian writer. He published over forty books, representing his talents in the fiction genres of drama (under the pen name ''Gohar Morad'' or ''Gowhar Murad,'' according to Library of Congress arabicised transliteration), the novel, the screenplay, and the short story in addition to the non-fiction genres of

cultural criticism Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tylor ...

, travel literature and

ethnography Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...

. Many consider the screenplay for '' Gav'' ("The Cow"), Dariush Mehrjui's 1969 film, to be Sa'edi's magnum opus as it ushered in the New Wave Iranian cinema. After the 1979 revolution and his subsequent exile, he maintained an important figure in the scene of Persian literature despite the Iranian diaspora of which he unwillingly became a part. Till his death in Paris, due to depression and related alcoholism, he remained one of the most prominent and prolific of Iranian writers and intellectuals internationally.

Biography

Sa'edi was born in Tabriz, Iran, the cultural and economic center of the northwestern Iranian region of Azerbaijan, to Tayyebe and Ali Asghar Sa'edi. His father, who belonged to the Sa'ed ol-Mamalek clan, worked as a government administrator. The family lived in relative poverty. His older sister died when she was eleven months old, but he grew up with a younger brother and sister. In 1941, after the Soviet Union invaded Tabriz, he and his family fled to a village. There, Sa'edi became fascinated with the culture of rural Iran. As a boy he was an avid reader fascinated particularly by writings of

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

. It was in those days, he wrote many years later, that his "eyes suddenly opened." In 1945, his native province became an autonomous socialist republic. Although the separatist state lasted only a year, it temporarily instated

Azerbaijani Azerbaijani may refer to: * Something of, or related to Azerbaijan * Azerbaijanis * Azerbaijani language See also * Azerbaijan (disambiguation) * Azeri (disambiguation) * Azerbaijani cuisine * Culture of Azerbaijan The culture of Azerbaijan ...

as the official language in addition to inspiring the young Sa'edi. In 1949, he joined the youth organization of the outlawed separatist party, the Democratic Party of Azerbaijan. In addition to instigating villagers against large land owners, he helped edit three magazines: ''Faryad'', ''So’ud'', and ''Javanan-e Azarbayjan''. In 1953, after Operation Ajax, the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

coup d'état against the democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddeq, he and his younger brother were arrested and imprisoned at Shahrbani Prison in Tabriz. Though he renounced his allegiances to the communist Tudeh Party of Iran, he continued his socio-politically critical literary career. Although Sa'edi started writing in his boyhood, he started publishing his first short stories in the early 1950s. He published more stories through the course of the decade and his first play, ''Leylaj'ha'', in 1957, albeit under the female pen name, Gohar Morad (also spelled Gowhar Murad). After moving to Tehran in the early 1960s, where he and his brother, Akbar, founded a medical clinic in impoverished south of the city, he became acquainted with the literary intelligentsia of Iran. In addition to living with Ahmad Shamlou, a renowned lyric poet, he befriended

Jalal Al-e Ahmad Seyyed Jalāl Āl-e-Ahmad ( fa, جلال آل‌احمد; December 2, 1923September 9, 1969) was a prominent Iranian novelist, short-story writer, translator, philosopher, socio-political critic, sociologist, as well as an anthropologist who was ...

, author of '' Gharbzadegi'' ("Weststruckness"),

Simin Daneshvar Simin Dāneshvar ( fa, سیمین دانشور)‎ (28 April 1921 – 8 March 2012) was an Iranian academic, novelist, fiction writer and translator. She was largely regarded as the first major Iranian woman novelist. Her books dealt with the ...

Parviz Natel-Khanlari Parviz Natel Khanlari ( fa, پرویز ناتل خانلری; March 20, 1914 – August 23, 1990) was an Iranian literary scholar, linguist, author, researcher, politician, and professor at Tehran University. Biography Parviz Natel Khanlari g ...

Jamal Mirsadeghi Jamal (Hossein) Mirsadeghi ( fa, جمال میرصادقی, b. 1933) is an Iranian writer. He was born in Tehran, and graduated in Persian Literature from the Literature and Human Science Faculty of Tehran University. He held various jobs as an a ...

Mina Assadi Mina Assadi ( fa, مینا اسدی; born March 12, 1943) is an Iranian-born poet, author, journalist and songwriter who lives in exile in Stockholm, Sweden. Author She is known for writing about controversial and provocative subjects, especiall ...

and others. He also traveled to southern Iran, specifically areas of the Persian Gulf coast, and wrote ethnographic travel literature. In the 1960s freedom of expression diminished greatly in Iran. Sa'edi and other intellectuals protested the Ministry of Culture and Art policy of 1966 forcing all publishers to seek state permission to print literature. In 1968, after their protests failed, Sa'edi and other writers formed the Kanun-e Nevisandegan-e Iran ("Association of Iran Writers"). Although censorship of some of his works continued, Sa'edi continued to publish. In addition to dramas, stories, novels, and screenplays, Sa'edi participated in the publication of literary magazines, scientific journals and also published fifteen translations of European psychological and medical literature. In 1973,

Amir Kabir Publishers Amir Kabir Publishers ( fa, انتشارات امیرکبیر; also romanized as ''Amir-Kabir'') is a publishing house based in Tehran, Iran and founded on November 19, 1949, by Abdorrahim "Taghi" Jafari. It is named after Mirza Taghi Khan Amirk ...

made Sa'edi editor of ''

Alefba ''Alefba'' ( fa, الفبا) is a Persian-language literary magazine with two periods of publication, one in Iran before the 1979 revolution and another thereafter in France. Gholam-Hossein Sa'edi was the editor of both versions. In Iran the publ ...

'', a quarterly literary magazine. However, in 1974 the

Pahlavi Pahlavi may refer to: Iranian royalty *Seven Parthian clans, ruling Parthian families during the Sasanian Empire *Pahlavi dynasty, the ruling house of Imperial State of Persia/Iran from 1925 until 1979 **Reza Shah, Reza Shah Pahlavi (1878–1944 ...

government banned the journal and

SAVAK SAVAK ( fa, ساواک, abbreviation for ''Sâzemân-e Ettelâ'ât va Amniat-e Kešvar'', ) was the secret police, domestic security and intelligence service in Iran during the reign of the Pahlavi dynasty. SAVAK operated from 1957 until prime ...

, its secret police, arrested and tortured Sa'edi. Already having a history of suicidal thoughts, Sa'edi's depression loomed after his release from Tehran's infamous Evin Prison nearly a year later. Gholam-hossein-saedi

The late 1970s and early 1980s saw Sa'edi's last attempts to promote democracy in Iran. In 1977 he partook in the event Dah Shab-e Sher ("Ten Nights of Poetry") in Tehran organized by the Association of Iranian Writers in cooperation with the

Goethe-Institut The Goethe-Institut (, GI, en, Goethe Institute) is a non-profit German cultural association operational worldwide with 159 institutes, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and ...

.Gölz, Olmo. "Dah Šab – Zehn Literaturabende in Teheran 1977: Der Kampf um das Monopol literarischer Legitimität." Die Welt des Islams 55, 1 (2015), 83–111. The International Freedom to Publish Committee of the Association of American Publishers invited Sa'edi to New York City where he spoke and met American playwright Arthur Miller. After the revolution, he joined the National Democratic Front, a liberal leftist party founded (in honor of Mosaddeq) in opposition to the Islamist right wing led by

Ayatollah Khomeini Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Imam Khomeini ( , ; ; 17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian political and religious leader who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the founder of ...

. After the foundation of the theocratic

Islamic republic The term Islamic republic has been used in different ways. Some Muslim religious leaders have used it as the name for a theoretical form of Islamic theocratic government enforcing sharia, or laws compatible with sharia. The term has also been u ...

and the execution of his friend, the playwright Sayid Soltanpour, Sa'edi fled to France via Pakistan. In 1982 in Paris, he founded the Association of Iranian Writers in Exile and reestablished the journal

. Additionally, he co-founded the exilic ''Anjoman-e Te'atr-e Iran'' ("Iranian Theater Society") and wrote two more plays, in addition to several essays. Although it did not halt his literary activities, the torment of exile exacerbated Sa'edi depression and alcoholism. In 1985, after years of heavy drinking, Sa'edi was diagnosed with cirrhosis. He continued to drink until admitted to St. Antoine's hospital in Paris on November 2, 1985. On November 23, he died with his wife and father by his side. Days later he was buried, with a memorial organized by the Association of Iranian Writers in Exile, at Père Lachaise Cemetery near

Sadeq Hedayat Sadegh Hedayat ( fa, صادق هدایت ; 17 February 1903 – 9 April 1951) was an Iranian writer and translator. Best known for his novel '' The Blind Owl'', he was one of the earliest Iranian writers to adopt literary modernism in their care ...

's grave.

Education

In 1942, Sa'edi's started attending elementary school at Badr School. He started intermediate school in 1948 at Mansur School but later transferred to Hekmat School. In 1954 he graduated from high school and later that year entered medical school at

Tabriz University The University of Tabriz ( fa, دانشگاه تبريز, ''Danushgah-e Tebriz'') is a public university located in Tabriz, East Azerbaijan with the fundamental aim of creating a center of excellence in higher education and research. It is one ...

(today the medical school is the independent

Tabriz University of Medical Sciences Tabriz University of Medical Sciences (TUOMS) ( Persian: دانشگاه علوم پزشکی تبریز, ''Danushgah-e 'lum-e Pezeshki-ye Tebriz'') is public medical sciences university located in Tabriz, East Azarbaijan Province, Iran. It is ran ...

). After graduating in 1961 with his dissertation titled ''Alal-e Ejtema'yi-ye Psiku-nuruz'ha dar Azarbayjan'' ("Societal Causes of Psychoneurosis in Azerbaijan"), he served his mandatory military service as a doctor at the Saltanatabad Garrison in Tehran. In 1962 he enrolled at the University of Tehran (today its medical school is the independent

Tehran University of Medical Sciences Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) ( fa, دانشگاه علوم پزشکی تهران, ''Danushgah-e 'lum Pezeshki-ye Tehran'') is the largest and most highly ranked medical university of Iran. In September 2008, Iran's Mini ...

) to complete his medical specialization in psychiatry, while completing his medical residency at Ruzbeh Hospital.

Works

Drama * Leylaj'ha (1957) * Qased'ha (1957) * Shaban Faribak (1957) * Karbafak'ha dar Sangar (1960) * Bamha va Zir-e Bamha (1961) * Kalat-e Gol (1961) * Arusi (1962) * Shahadat (1962) * Faqir (1963) * Ziyafat, Faqir (1963) * Az Pa Niyoftadeha (1963) * Dah Lal-bazi (1963) * Entezar (1964) * Khaneha-ra Kharab Konid (1964) * Behtarin Baba-ye Donya (1965) * Chub be-dast'ha-ye Varazil (1965) * Panj Nemayeshnameh az Enqelab-e Mashrutiyat (1966) * A-ye bi Kolah, A-ye ba Kolah (1967) * Khane-ye Roshani (1967) * Dikte va Zaviye (1968) * Parvar Bandan (1969) * Ma Nemishenavim (1970) * Vay bar Maghlub (1970) * Janeshin (1970) * Chesm dar barabar-e Chesm (1971) * Aqebat-e Qalam-Farsayi (1975) * Ruh-e Chah (1978) * Mah-e Asal (1978) * Ghambad (1983) * Do Nemayeshnameh (1986) * Khayyat-e Afsun Shodeh (1988) * Mar dar Mabad (1993) * Lal-baziha (?) Stories and Novels * Aftab Mahtab (1955) * Morgh-e Anjir (1956) * Khaneha-ye Shahr-e Rey (1957) * Khane-ye Barf (1959) * Shabneshini ba Shokuh (1960) * Geda (1962) * Qodrat-e Taze (1962) * Do Baradar (1962) * Raz (1963) * Azadaran-e Bayal (1964) * Dandil (1966) * Shafa-ye Ajel (1966) * Vahemeha-ye bi Nam va Neshan (1967) * Gomshode-ye lab-e Darya (1967) * Mahdi-ye Digar (1967) * Tars va Larz (1968) * Tup (1969) * Maqtal (1970) * Gur va Gahvareh (1973) * Bazi Tamam Shod (1974) * Madkhali bar yek Dastan-e Boland (1977) * Vagon-e Siyah (1979) * Dar Aghaz-e Sofreh (1980) * Ey-vay To Ham? (1981) * Ashoftehal-e Bidarbakht (1981) * Jarukesh-e Saqf-e Aseman (1981) * Sejane (1982) * Dar Sarache-ye Dabbaghan (1983) * Kelas-e Dars (1983) * Agar Mara Bezanand (1983) * Mir-e Mohanna (1986) * Shanbe Shoru Shod (1986) * Dastan-e Esma'il (1986) * Mehmani (1988) * Sandvich (1989) * Sedakhune (1990) * Padgan-e Khakestari (1990) * Gharibe dar Shahr (1990) * Maqtal (1993) * Tatar-e Khandan (1994) * Ashghalduni (?) Screenplays * Fasl-e Gostakhi (1969) * Gav (1969) * Afiyatgah (1988) Children's Books * Kaleybar (1970) * Marand (1970) * Kalat-e Nan (1976) * Kalat-e Kar (1978) * Yeki Yekdane (1983)

Short Analysis of One of His Short Stories, ''Two Brothers''

In Two Brothers, he pictures the life of two brothers in search of a calm and free life without the presence of each other. In 1967, after a long pause the notions of Realism were started again in Persian literature, and since Sa’edi had the history of receiving medical education, he developed his characters to show human illusions in their social lives. The use of realism in his works provides readers with the chance to relate to the characters. He questions the truth between the two brothers and readers wonder who has the right to blame the other. This use of verisimilitude in Sa’edi's Two Brothers creates a division between the reality he is depicting and the one in our minds. Sa’edi was a famous Persian doctor and writer who contributed a great deal in Persian literature with his realistic point of view. With picturing inferior social facts of his time, he started a new path of realism in Persian literature. He started writing as a career by imitating other authors of his time and their styles. He was so much under the influence of Sadegh Hedayat that even attempted suicide. He changed his believes and political ideas in the course of his life and suffered a few months in prison.

Translations of Saedi's Works

* Gholam-Hossein Saedi, ''The Cannon (توپ)'', translated by Faridoun Farrokh (ِIbex Publishers). . *Gholam-Hossein Saedi, ''Paura e tremore (ترس و لرز)'', translated into Italian by Felicetta Ferraro (Ponte33).

Notes

Minoo Southgate translated Sa'edi's Tars va Larz. The title of the translation, which is preceded by a long introduction, is Fear and Trembling, published by Three Continents Press.

References

* Dastgheyb, Abd al-'Ali. ''Naqd-e Asar-e Gholamhoseyn Sa'edi''. Tehran: Entesharat-e Chapar, 1978. * Entezari, Mahyar. "Azadaran-e Bayal." ''Encyclopaedia Iranica'', 2011, available online at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/azadaran-e-bayal. * Farrokh, Faridoun & Houra Yavari. "Gholamhosayn Sa'edi." ''Encyclopaedia Iranica'', 2012, available online at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/saedi-gholam-hosayn * Floor, Willem. ''The History of Theater in Iran''. Washington, DC: Mage Publishers, 2005. * * ―――――. "Persian Plays and the Iranian Theater." In ''Colors of Enchantment: Theater, Dance, Music, and the Visual Arts of the Middle East'', edited by Sherifa Zuhur, pp. 87–106. Cairo: America University in Cairo Press, 2001. * Habibian, Maryam. ''Iranian Theatre in Exile: An Examination of Gholamhoseyn Sa'edi's Plays in Iran and Abroad''. Ph.D. dissertation, New York University, 1993. * ''Iranian Drama: An Anthology''. Compiled & edited by M.R. Ghanoonparvar & John Green. Costa Mesa, California: Mazda Publishers, 1989. * Jamshidi, Esma'il. ''Gohar Morad va Marg-e Khodkhasteh: Sharh-e Zendegi, Goftoguha va Khaterat''. Tehran: Nashr-e Elm, 2002. * Kapuscinski, Gisèle. ''Iranian Theatre in the 1960s''. Ph.D. dissertation, Columbia University, 1982. * ―――――. "Modern Persian Drama." In ''Persian Literature'', edited by Ehsan Yarshater, pp. 381–402. Albany, New York: Persian Heritage Foundation & State University of New York Press, 1988. * ―――――. ''Modern Persian Drama: An Anthology''. Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America, 1987. * Keddie, Nikki. ''Roots of Revolution: An Interpretative History of Modern Iran''. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1981. * Mojabi, Javad. ''Shenakhtname-ye Gholamhoseyn Sa’edi''. Tehran: Nashr-e Atieh, 1999. * Naby, Eden. ''Gowhar Murad: A Persian Playwright''. M.A. thesis, Columbia University, 1971. * Ramon, Nithal. "Gholam Hoseyn Sa'edi." ''Index on Censorship'', 7.1 (1978): pp. 40–42. * Sa'edi, Gholamhoseyn. "Iran under the party of God." ''Index on Censorship'', 13.1 (1984): pp. 16–20. * ―――――. Interview recorded by Zia Sedghi, April 5 & June 7, 1984, Paris, France. Iranian Oral History Collection, Harvard University. Available at http://pds.lib.harvard.edu/pds/view/2899130?n=1&s=6. * ―――――. "Interview: Whose theatre?" ''Index on Censorship'', 14.4 (1985): pp. 32–33. * ''Sa'edi be Revayat-e Sa'edi''. Paris: Kanun-e Nevisandegan-e Iran (dar Tab'id), 1995. * Shaffer, Brenda. ''Borders and Brethren: Iran and the Challenge of Azerbaijani Identity''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 2002. * Stodte, Claudia. ''Iranische Literatur zwischen gesellschaftlichem Engagement und existentieller Welterfahrung: Das Werk Golam-Hoseyn Sa'edis''. Europäische Hochschulschriften, Series XXVII, Vol. 72. Frankfurt am Maine: Peter Lang, 2000. * ''Yad Nameh-ye Doktor Gholamhoseyn Sa'edi''. Hamburg: Sonboleh, 1996. * Jacobson, Roman. (1987). On Realism in Art. London. Harvard university Press * Sa'edi, Gholam-Hossein. (1967). Two Brothers. Tehran. * Mizan Online News Agency. (94). Who Is Gholam-Hossein Sa'edi. Mizan Online News Agency. (Online). https://www.mizanonline.com/fa/news/106689/%D8%BA%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%AD%D8%B3%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%AF%DB%8C-%DA%A9%DB%8C%D8%B3%D8%AA

External links

* Gholam-Hosayn Sa'edi
''Encyclopaedia Iranica''
* ''Gholamhossein Sā'edi'', Persian Language & Literature
Iran Chamber Society
* ''Dr Gholamhossein Sā'edi'', a Biography, in Persian

* Dr Mostafā Osku'i, ''Azā'dāry-e Gohar Morād barāy-e Ahāliy-e Bayal'' (Mourning of Gohar Morād holām-Hossein Sā'edifor the Inhabitants of Bayal), in Persian, ''Gholām-Hossein Sā'edi''
''Beh'namā''
* ''Gholām-Hossein Sā'edi-ology: Revisiting Gholām-Hossein Sā'edi, his life, works and times'', in Persian

* Lādan Pārsi, ''Twenty years have passed since Gholām-Hossein Sā'edi died'', 23 November 2005
BBC Persian
* Jamshid Barzegar, interview with

Javad Mojabi Javad Mojabi ( fa, جواد مجابی , born 14 October 1939 in Qazvin, Iran) is an Iranian poet, writer, researcher, and literary and art critic. Mojabi is one of Iran's most prominent modern writers and poets, and has published over 50 literary ...

(poet, writer and literary critic)
BBC Persian
(listen). * Amir-Hasan Chehel'tan (writer), ''The tragedy of being Sā'edi, a writer who did not appreciate his genius'', November 23, 2005, in Persian
BBC Persian
* Behruz Sheydā, ''Looking at the stories by Gholām-Hossein Sā'edi'', in Persian

* Khosro Sādeghi Brugeny, '' Āzar 2, the twenty-second anniversary of Gholām-Hossein Sā'edi's death'', in Persian, November 23, 2007
''Āftāb''
* ''Gholām-Hossein Sā'edi'', a Biography (containing a chronological table), in Persian
''Roshd''
* '' Ahmad Shamlou's observation of Gholām-Hossein Sā'edi'', in Persian, December 28, 2006
''The Literary Society of Shafighi''
* Mohammad Jalāli Chimeh, aka M. Sahar, talks about ''Gholām-Hossein Sā'edi'', 59 min
Google
(watch). * Nasim Khāksār, talks about ''Gholām-Hossein Sā'edi'',

SOAS SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury are ...

, January 22, 2006, 28 min
Google
(watch). * Shādāb Vajdi, talks about ''Gholām-Hossein Sā'edi'', SOAS, January 22, 2006, 10 min
Google
(watch). * ''Gedā'' (Beggar), by Gholām-Hossein Sā'edi, in Persian
''Sokhan''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saedi, Gholam Hossein Azerbaijani-language writers Iranian male novelists Iranian novelists Iranian male short story writers Iranian screenwriters Iranian dramatists and playwrights Writers from Tabriz French people of Azerbaijani descent University of Tabriz alumni Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery 1936 births 1985 deaths Iranian psychiatrists 20th-century novelists 20th-century dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Iranian physicians Iranian emigrants to France 20th-century Iranian short story writers 20th-century male writers 20th-century screenwriters